Theft deterrents of this kind are used to prevent the theft of attractive and easily carried goods from retail shops, particularly from departmental stores, for instance such goods as clothes, bags, handbags and the like, or to cause people to refrain from stealing such goods. One such known theft deterrent is intended to be attached to respective article in a manner such that the deterrent can only be removed from the article concerned with the aid of a special deterrent release device. It is assumed that a potential thief will not have access to this special release device, at least not in the place where the article is on sale. The purpose of such theft deterrents is to render the article unusable to all practical purposes should an attempt is made to remove or to force the deterrent without the aid of the special release device, either by tearing the article or by staining the article with a dye or some other appropriate staining substance contained in a fragile ampule which is broken as a result of attempting to remove the deterrent without the aid of said device.
The theft deterrent may also be augmented with an alarm system, which is triggered by a sensor arrangement located at the exits from the store in which the theft-protected article is on sale.